The CIA: A World Of Secrets

At Camp Peary, future CIA officers are allegedly trained in the paramilitary activities of infiltration, exfiltration, demolition, night-time parachute jumping, and other clandestine tradecraft such as lock-picking and covert photography.

Upon graduation, most intelligence officers are transferred overseas where they are attached to US embassies and granted diplomatic cover. However, some non-official cover officers (NOCs) are also apparently sent into the field. They usually have more liberty in executing their missions because they don't admit to being with the CIA. The drawback is that if they're captured, they're on their own; the American government will disavow their existence.

the dark side

The Central Intelligence Agency must enforce actions that support the greater goals of the government. For this reason, a number of infamous operations have surfaced over the years. For instance, a number of democratically elected governments have been overthrown with the support of the CIA, such as Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, and Chile in 1973.

During the Cold War, anything that helped in the fight against Communism was an American victory. There's no better example than the 1981 Contra debacle, in which America allegedly secretly sold weapons to Iran to secure the release of hostages, while at the same time financing rebels soldiers in Nicaragua, as well as drug trafficking. However, the CIA strongly denies these allegations, and maintains that no evidence was ever found to support these claims.

People will always be curious about national security matters and all things related. Spies and the underground secret world make for very interesting stories because they are so foreign to most of us. With the United States being the only surviving superpower, the CIA is the sole remaining intelligence organization that has the clout and mystique to elicit passion.

Not only is the CIA constantly in the news, they've been Hollywood's bread and butter for years. Countless films are either about the CIA or mention it in passing. Movies like The Recruit , Spy Game , and Three Days of the Condor , as well as the books of celebrated authors like Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy establish, beyond a doubt, that there's nothing as exciting as an intricate blend of facts and fiction about this elusive organization.

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